At the treehouse, Matthew and John were doing what they did best: arguing.
"Let me hold them a little longer. Put your hands away."
"But, brother, you've been holding them for almost an hour. It's my turn." Matthew reached for the babies.
John pulled them away, holding them tightly against his chest.
Clementine watched the two brothers with an amused smile — she was used to this by now. A short distance away, Diana and Sunny tried to pick up knitting tips from her while she worked.
"Let me hold one. Give me Athena."
"No. She's happy with her grandfather." John looked down at the baby girl. Athena was a month old, her eyes still barely open.
"Then give me Leo."
"No. Just wait."
"You've been saying that for almost an hour! It's my turn, John."
They'd been here for two months, and Matthew still barely got to hold Max's kids. Every time Clementine let them near the babies, John swooped in first — and whenever he finally did hand one over, someone else stole it right back. It was starting to grate on him.
"Fine. Take them both. But hold them carefully."
Matthew blinked, surprised his brother had folded that easily, but he didn't waste time asking why. He held out his hands.
"I was the one who taught you how to hold a baby. Did you forget?"
He took his great-niece and great-nephew from John's arms.
"I know. But this one had an accident. Watch out — it's wet."
Matthew froze. He looked at his hand. Then at John's shirt, wet on the left side too.
"You—"
He caught himself before the rest could come out.
"Let me take care of that." Clementine reached for Athena.
"No, Clementine. You need to rest. I can handle it."
She hesitated, then let go when she saw how easily he'd settled the baby against him.
"Can I get a clean towel and some clothes?"
She brought both. He had Athena cleaned and changed in under a minute.
"Wow. I can't do it that fast."
"Don't worry, you'll learn. My first time wasn't pretty either. Years of changing Max's diapers will do that to you." He looked a little embarrassed saying it.
"Ava didn't help you?"
Matthew went quiet.
"I'm sorry," Clementine winced.
"No, don't be." He gave her a small smile, enough to wave off the apology. "Ava wasn't comfortable with diapers, so that job fell to me. Everything else was hers."
"Next time, let me do it." John's voice came from behind them. He'd changed into a clean shirt.
"I'll be happy to teach you," Matthew said, with an evil grin.
John immediately looked worried. He adjusted his glasses and sat down beside Leo, who slept on peacefully beside his sister.
Clementine picked her knitting back up. "Where's Max? Shouldn't he be here helping you?"
"He's in a meeting, making some kind of plan. He didn't say much."
Matthew and John's expressions changed at once. They knew what kind of meeting Max was having they'd tried to stop him more than once, but he never listened. Knowing the day was coming that fast made both their hearts tighten.
"That fool should be staying with you instead of working on some stupid plan," Matthew said.
"It must be hard on you, Clementine," John said.
Clementine was quiet for a moment. "It's not that bad. Max is very thoughtful — he just wants me to relax and let him handle everything. I'm just worried about him." She glanced down at her babies. "But I have a lot of wonderful people here who want to take care of me, and I have two wonderful little gifts right here with me. I won't be lonely. I'll manage for one month."
John shook his head. "You're too understanding for your own good."
"Agreed," said Matthew.
"There seems to be a lot of discussion about me."
Everyone turned toward the door. Max stood there, sword strapped to his hip, a grocery bag hanging from his left hand.
"What do you have in your hand?" Clementine asked.
"Just some groceries. I thought I'd cook you something good."
Max leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Don't — your uncle and father are right here," she whispered, embarrassed.
"They don't care."
"Yeah, we don't care," Matthew and John said, in unison.
Clementine nearly hid her face.
"Hey, pervert! Did you bring strawberry candied fruit for me and raspberry for Diana?" Sunny came rushing over, Diana close behind, both of them eyeing the bag.
"Sunny, how many times do I have to tell you, my name isn't 'pervert.' Living with us has made you way too comfortable. I should punish you like I did back at the prison."
He said it with an annoyed expression, though in truth he'd long since gotten used to Sunny's filterless mouth. She wasn't like most kids. Still, he wanted her to learn some manners.
"I'm sorry, Max. Forgive me." Sunny put on her most defeated face.
Max and Clementine exchanged a look. Neither of them fell for it anymore.
"Here's your raspberry, Diana."
The little girl snatched the candy and started in on it like a chipmunk.
{Thank you, Max.}
"Hey! What about me? I said sorry!"
Max ignored her, turning to Clementine instead. "Did she finish her homework?"
Clementine looked at Sunny, who stared back with pleading eyes.
Teaching both girls fell to Clementine. Diana was easy; Sunny was another matter — the only thing that worked on her was bribery, and the only reason she studied at all was because Max had made it the price of staying with them.
"She finished half, Max. She'll do the rest later."
"So she hasn't even started. Stop covering for her, Clem — you're spoiling her." He carried the bag toward the kitchen. "She doesn't get what she wants until I get what I want."
Sunny's face fell, on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry. Finish your homework — I'll help you," Clementine said.
{Here. You can have mine,} Diana offered, holding out her candy.
Sunny shook her head. "No, keep it. I'll finish fast and get my own."
She took off running, Clementine right behind her.
Coming back from the kitchen, Max found Sunny hunched over her homework, Clementine beside her. Diana sat in the corner, eating her candy, watching the two of them like a little mouse.
"Give this to her when she's finished." He handed Clementine the strawberry candy.
"Thanks."
"And where are my two little angels? I haven't held them in hours."
Clementine nodded toward the brothers, who were staring at the sleeping babies like they were priceless treasure.
"You'll have to get in line."
"Seriously? They're my babies."
"Tell that to your father and uncle."
Max looked at the two men, then back at his children. He sighed and sat down beside Clementine, watching the babies with open longing.
"Fine. I'll wait."
Clementine looked hesitant. She took a deep breath before finally voicing the question she'd been dreading.
"What was the decision?"
he took a deep breath.
The thing he had been avoiding had finally come.
Sunny and Diana, meanwhile, suddenly became very interested in pretending like they didn't exist. Sunny kept her eyes glued to her homework while Diana quietly nibbled on her candy, both of them clearly listening anyway.
"Next Monday, I'll be going. I'll try my best to come back within a month."
Clementine looked at him carefully.
"Is that true?"
"Trust me, I will. And just like I promised, I'm not going to die. You know my capabilities, and I'm not dumb enough to sacrifice my life. I have too much left to lose."
Her expression softened, but the worry didn't disappear.
"It's not that I don't trust you or your capabilities. I'm just worried. I can't help it."
She lowered her gaze for a moment before looking back at him.
"Take care of yourself."
He put his hand gently over her shoulder.
"I will."
She leaned against him, and for a moment, neither of them said anything.
But he knew she was still afraid.
"Max. I'll be going out hunting and scavenging in the safe zone tomorrow with my girls. I've been getting tired of sitting around the house for too long."
Max immediately became worried and quickly voiced what was on his mind.
"Is that all? Don't do anything dumb. And don't even think about following me. I mean it."
Whenever something involved Max, Clementine had a tendency to do risky things herself.
She dismissed his concern with a shake of her head.
"I thought about it, but I know there's no point. But that doesn't mean I can't help you. Even though I can't fight on the front line, at least I can help you deal with the paperwork. And while we're out hunting, we're not just hunting. We'll also discuss how to improve the current plan and handle logistics. Besides, you need to talk to Molly. Her scouts found a few CRM-affiliated territories."
Max was genuinely moved by her willingness to help.
"My dad and uncle were right. Sometimes I really do take you for granted."
He gave her a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
"Don't make me a stranger. This is what I should do. Am I not your wife?" Clementine reassured him. "And don't listen to your father and uncle. You're a wonderful man."
"Haha."
Max laughed to himself.
"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"
"What's so funny is that my father and uncle feel more like my in-laws than yours."
"Because she doesn't give us a reason to complain or worry," came John's voice.
"You're stubborn as a rock, do not listen to us. What do you want us to do, praise you?" Matthew chimed in.
"Both of you, this is a private conversation. Stay out of it, please," Max complained.
That caused both brothers to immediately turn their attention back to whatever they had been doing.
"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about."
Max turned toward Clementine, who was giggling.
===
Thank you, everyone, who has been with me on this journey. I'll be stopping here for now. In the future, I plan to rewrite the entire novel again, incorporating all the feedback I've received. So, please look forward to that. If you have any suggestions or feedback, or anything you'd like to see in the next rewrite of the novel, please write them down. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
Once again, thank you all so much for your support!